The Antibacterial Effect of Three Mouthwashes on Common Microbial Flora of the Oral Cavity

The study was based on determining the efficacy of three different mouthwashes, containing different classes of chemical agents. A random collection of 30 samples were obtained from Bingham University students in which three specific organisms were isolated. The isolated organisms studied were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans. The mouthwashes used were assayed for their inhibitory effect on these isolates. The antibacterial activities of the mouthwashes were determined by using the antimicrobial susceptibility testing method. Data obtained from the study indicated that the three mouthwashes 001, 002, and 003 had inhibitory effects on S. mutans (143.15 mm, 31.18 mm, 118.84 mm), S. aureus (113.11 mm, 3.14 mm, 50.27 mm) and C. albicans (56.75 mm, 15.91 mm, 9.62 mm). Different active components of these mouthwashes may account for their various areas of inhibition on these isolates as each active component has its own designated efficacy. The results revealed that mouthwash 001 and 003 had more active antimicrobial properties on the bacteria isolates whereas mouthwash 002 had little antimicrobial properties on the bacterial isolates but more on the fungal isolate.